Remember the robot that was reported to feed on human corpses? Turns out the bot actually wouldn’t be programmed to eat flesh at all. Instead, it would stick to leaves, grass and other non-animal-based organic matter.

The Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot – known as Eatr for short – does indeed fuel its “biomass engine” by digesting organic material, but it was not intended to munch its way through battlefields of fallen soldiers, Harry Schoell, the chief executive of Cyclone Power Technologies, said.

“We completely understand the public’s concern about futuristic robots feeding on the human population, but that is not our mission,” Mr Schoell said.

“We are focused on demonstrating that our engines can create usable, green power from plentiful, renewable plant matter. The commercial applications alone for this earth-friendly energy solution are enormous.”

Looks like the panic was premature, and based on some misconstrued information. Still, we have to ask: If the robot can be programmed to eat certain things, couldn’t it still potentially be hijacked and re-programmed to consume corpses?